Strength in the Face of Adversity: Resilience Strategies of Transgender Individuals

This phenomenological inquiry explored the lived experiences of resilience of 21 transgender individuals. Through individual semistructured interviews (3 interviews each with 5 participants) and 1 focus group interview (16 participants), the authors identified 5 common resiliency themes (evolving a self‐generated definition of self, embracing self‐worth, awareness of oppression, connection with a supportive community, and cultivating hope for the future) and 2 variant themes (social activism and being a positive role model for others). Future practice and research directions are discussed.     

The Enhancement of Performance Excellence Among Performing Artists

With the maturation of the practice of applied sport psychology has come recognition of the ways in which knowledge of performance excellence can address performance issues among other populations. The present article addresses applications to performing artists. Four issues that may affect performing artists, and that have direct parallels within sport, are performance enhancement and psychological skills training, developmental issues, injury and retirement, and eating disorders. Performing artists' preferences and concerns about consultation are discussed, noting parallels and differences with applications to athletes. Both practical and ethical considerations of developing such a practice are reviewed.     

Heterogeneity in Verbal Memory: A Marker of Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease?

ABSTRACT

Demonstrations of memory changes in those at risk for Alzheimer's disease by the presence of the APOE e4 allele have been inconsistent to date. The present study went beyond traditional analyses of central tendency (i.e., group differences on mean test scores) and also conducted distribution analyses to search for subtle cognitive differences in subgroups of normal-functioning elderly persons with the APOE e4 genotype. The results of the study revealed that (a) the e4 and non-e4 groups failed to differ in terms of their mean scores on tests of memory and verbal skills; and (b) relative to the non-e4 group, the e4 subjects had significantly greater heterogeneity of variance on the memory measures but not on fundamental verbal skills. Logistic regression analyses indicated that the discrepancy in scores on the memory measures was a significant predictor of genotype group membership (82% correct classification rate). Implications of these findings for the detection of a preclinical phase of AD are discussed.     

An examination of the effects of 5-Methoxy-n, n-di(ISO)propyltryptamine hydrochloride (Foxy) on cognitive development in rats

The hallucinogenic "designer drug" known as Foxy or Methoxy Foxy and formally know as 5-Methoxy-N,N-di(iso)propyltryptamine hydrochloride (5-MeO-DIPT) is rapidly gaining popularity among recreational users. However, little is known about the consequences of its use on neuropsychological development or behavior. During one of two adolescent periods, the rats were given repeated injections of either saline or 5 mg/kg of 5-MeO-DIPT. Once the animals reached 80 days of age, they were trained and tested on a number of tasks designed to assess the effects of 5-MeO-DIPT, if any, on memory tasks with spatial components that presumably involve declarative memory systems and on a nonspatial task that is considered sensitive to disruptions in nondeclarative memory. With one exception, both the 5-MeO-DIPT- and saline-treated rats were able to master the spatial navigation tests at comparable rates. However, the performance of the drug-treated rats was markedly inferior to that of the control animals on a response-learning task, suggesting a lack of flexibility in adapting their responses to changing task demands. This could indicate reductions in serotonin activity in the forebrain similar to the effects of studied drugs such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), suggesting 5-MeO-DIPT may act as a toxin compromising serotoninergic systems in the brain.     

The use of valerian in neuropsychiatry

Valerian is a medicinal agent deriving from the plant Valeriana officinalis L. We reviewed the available literature on the use of valerian preparations in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. Preclinical studies suggest that valerian has sedative and muscle-relaxant effects. Few clinical trials with valerian have been carried out in conditions other than insomnia. The insomnia studies have methodologic shortcomings but suggest that some preparations lead to significant subjective improvement in sleep complaints with remarkably few side effects. Furthermore, some evidence indicates that valerian preparations may have a mechanism of action and clinical characteristics that differ from the benzodiazepine-related sedative/hypnotics, making them more suitable for long-term use. If this safety profile and the plant's sedative/hypnotic efficacy are confirmed in double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with carefully and consistently prepared valerian compounds, then those compounds would fill an important and presently unfilled niche in the treatment of insomnia.     

Patterns of Coping Among Persons with HIV Infection: Configurations, Correlates, and Change

This study examines coping in response to HIV infection, using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample (n = 2,864) of HIV-infected persons. We investigated configurations of coping responses, the correlates of configuration membership, the stability of coping configurations, and the relationship of coping to emotional well-being. Four coping configurations emerged from cluster analyses: relatively frequent use of blame-withdrawal coping, frequent use of distancing, frequent active-approach coping, and infrequent use of all three coping strategies (passive copers). Passive copers had few symptoms, high levels of physical functioning, and high emotional well-being; blame-withdrawal copers had the opposite pattern. Of those completing a second interview 1 year after baseline, 46% had the same coping configuration. Increases in the number of HIV-related symptoms raised the probability of blame-withdrawal coping at follow-up, whereas decreases raised the probability of passive coping. Infrequent use of coping responses at baseline was related to greater emotional well-being 1 year later. This result, in conjunction with the high levels of emotional well-being in the passive cluster, suggests that high levels of distress can induce blame-withdrawal coping whereas coping efforts are minimal when social support and emotional well-being are high. Results highlight issues in ascertaining the causal direction between coping and psychological outcomes, as well as in specifying the nature of stressful situations with which people are coping.     

Menstrual expressions and menstrual attitudes

Women's responses to a questionnaire survey in a Northeastern U.S. college community are examined to determine whether usage preferences in menstrual expressions are systematically related to reported attitudes towards menstruation. While those women who use expressions with negative connotations tend to report negative attitudes, the converse is not true. A striking contrast is noted between familiarity and use of menstrual expressions and, in general, menstrual expressions are not consistently associated with or reflective of menstrual attitudes.     

Validity of self-reports of alcohol and other drug use: a multitrait-multimethod assessment

Four methods (self-reported rating, self-reported intake, peer-reported rating, peer-reported intake) and multiple analytical criteria were employed to assess the construct validity of reports of three types of substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes) in a study of 194 college students who were members of friendship pairs. The resulting multitrait-multimethod matrix was analyzed in the traditional fashion as well as with confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent and discriminant validity for the three substance use traits were quite adequate, although the validity of one measure (the peer-reported intake measure of alcohol use) may be considered inadequate according to some criteria. This study demonstrates the usefulness of multimethod assessment and confirmatory factor analysis for research on construct validity and for derivation of more accurate measures of drug use.     

A Microcomputer Assessment System (MAS) for administering computer-based surveys: Preliminary results from administration to clients at an impaired-driver treatment program

The Microcomputer Assessment System (MAS), written in C language, allows a researcher to design and administer computer-based surveys by manipulating ASCII text files and requires no knowledge of a traditional programming language. The system was designed to provide maximum user flexibility: MAS allows both multiple-choice and open-ended (fill-in) questions and allows control over text color, allowable answers, and summary output. MAS also assesses response latency and includes support for random assignment of different instruments to respondents. MAS runs under MS-DOS 3.0 or higher, requires 640K of RAM, a color screen (EGA or better), and an extended keyboard. Preliminary results from an application of MAS to a sample of. 121 clients at an impaired-driver treatment program are summarized.